Adelaide: The sun took a break but India shone to stay ahead of Australia in the opening Test after sporadic rain intrusions, KL Rahul’s (44, 67b, 3×4, 1×6) enterprise and Cheteshwar Pujara’s (40 batting, 127b, 4×4) obduracy culminated in a 166-run lead here Saturday.
Virat Kohli (34) was dismissed late in the final session of day three as India reached 151 for three at stumps on day three at the Adelaide Oval. At close of play, Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane (1 batting) were batting.
The Indian skipper lunged forward to defend off Nathan Lyon (1/48) but was caught at short leg for an uncharacteristic knock.
Post tea, Kohli and Pujara took their third-wicket partnership to 71 runs, albeit it was low on strike-rate, coming off 197 balls. Pujara survived early in the last session, courtesy DRS again, as the ball seemed to miss the stumps on account of bounce in the 40th over by Lyon.
At the other end, Kohli became the fourth Indian batsman after Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid to score 1000-plus runs in Test cricket against Australia.
The hosts though cut off most of his scoring opportunities, and Kohli was happy to play for time as he didn’t dominate the bowling for once.
India were going well, and just when it appeared to be smooth sailing for the visitors, Lyon struck to remove Kohli before stumps and put the match in balance again.
Earlier, Rahul played a quick-fire knock as India reached 86 for two at tea. Rain had further caused delays post lunch and another 23 minutes were lost before play could finally get underway.
As opposed to the first innings, Rahul and Murali Vijay (18) were more careful and negotiated the Australian pace battery without much discomfort.
Vijay was the first to go, out driving again, and caught at second slip off Mitchell Starc (1/18). It fizzled out the Indian momentum, even as Rahul continued playing his shots.
Pujara survived a scare in the 24th over, using DRS to overturn a caught-behind decision off Lyon. But two balls later, Australia’s desperation for a wicket paid off as Rahul edged behind off Josh Hazlewood (1/25). Kohli walked out to boos from the Australian fans but made sure there was no further loss until tea.
Earlier, rain hampered play on day three as India took a 15-run lead in the first innings after Australia were bowled out for 235 in reply to the visitors’ 250. Inclement weather first delayed play by 45 minutes in the morning session, and then there were two more delays in the first session before lunch was taken.
Brief scores: India 250 & 151/3 (KL Rahul 44, Cheteshwar Pujara 40 batting, Virat Kohli 34); Australia 235 (Travis Head 72; Jasprit Bumrah 3/47). Match to continue.
Pant equals MSD record
Adelaide: Young Rishabh Pant Saturday took six catches during Australia’s first innings to equal predecessor MS Dhoni’s record of most catches by an Indian wicketkeeper in a Test innings. The 21-year-old Pant had a hand in dismissing Usman Khawaja, Peter Handscomb and Tim Paine on the second day before pouching on to edges off Mitchell Starc, Travis Head and Josh Hazlewood’s willow Saturday. In 2009, Dhoni had achieved his record feat during the Wellington Test against New Zealand.
